Changing for the best
by Karamelo with a K
Summary: What if James and Lily allied themselves to the Dark Lord in hopes of saving their child? If the child learned from a young age to respect the wizard, then He would not need to kill their child, right?
1. Chapter 1

James and Lily Potter were scared. For the first time in their lives they were really afraid, but not for them, but for their future child. They had discovered Lily was pregnant a little over two weeks now and they were happy about it, but last week, terrible news had reached their ears. Voldemort was targeting them.

He was targeting their _child_. The child they hadn't even held or heard yet but already loved more than themselves and even more than life itself.

Apparently there was a prophecy involved in this, but Voldemort didn't knew if it was the Potter or Longbottom child the one referred in it.

"I know I must be a terrible witch, James" said Lily the afternoon they were told about it all. ", but I hope it's Frank's child the one of the prophecy"

James said nothing to her as he put his arms around her and involved his beloved wife into a hug. He had also thought about it, but he didn't feel guilty because of that. His family had been like that, and he was like that. They valued family even more than friendship or the lives of others. It was in their motto: 'In Darkness or in Light, family comes above all', and he had vowed to honor it when his father named him his heir.

They both stayed up late that night, crying silently and praying to the gods and to the Magic to let them get out of all that problems. James even thought about what his mother said to him once: _We do not harm ourselves, James; we protect our family and treasure the Magic. _In that regard, both Black and Potter families prided themselves in protecting family.

"James, let's hide in the muggle world!" said Lily softly, almost afraid of the idea, but her eyes were full of determination and courage. "We don't have to stay here! They won't know where we are! _He_ will never think we are in the muggle world"

The once prankster liked the idea. A lot to be precise, but he couldn't imagine himself living without magic, without his child knowing how to fly or how to cast a jinx. He couldn't picture himself living like his Uncle Marius or like Lily's sister.

"I don't know, Lily" he answered finally after a long silence. "I've never known any other thing besides Magic in my life. Magic _is _my life. I can't quit it!

Lily looked away for a moment before speaking.

"Neither do I, but I want my child to grow up safe and normal"

"He can't be normal in a place full of muggles and void of Magic"

The woman slowly reverted her gaze to the man he loved and saw all the uncertainties and doubts in his eyes.

"We can't do it, love"

"Then what, James?" said Lily crying again. "What do we do now? He's coming after our son! We rejected him and now he will kill our child because of a damn prophecy!"

The last part was shouted and James could hear all the rage and the fear in the voice of his wife. He was angry too, and he feared for his family. They weren't even married for three years and their child hadn't even been born; but they were already condemned.

"I don't know, Lily" James whispered with cold tears running down his eyes. He had vowed to follow on to family tradition; he couldn't go 'muggle' now. But there must have been a way to protect Lily, to protect his kid. "I will think about something"

"Well do it, James" she stated coldly, but still hurt about the news. Still with her eyes red, she went up to her private office and closed the door with a loud thump.

James had seen her angry and hurt many times, but never like today. Not even when Snivellus called her a mudblood or when her sister insulted her in their wedding; she swallowed the tears and sadness when her parents died! But now…

The man seated in the couch near the fire and summoned an elf.

"Bungy, sent Mistress Lily a tea and bring me a bottle of red wine"

"Immediately, Master James" said the elf before popping away only to return a minute later with a bottle of the requested wine and a glass.

What could they do now? Albus had them under the Fidelius and not even Sirius knew where they were. And he didn't had his cloak to go out and find them. Maybe he could firecall Dumbledore and ask him for his cloak.

"Albus Quarters!" said James into the fire after making sure he sounded and looked fine enough. He couldn't have Albus knowing he had an argument with his wife or that he had been crying.

"My dear boy" greeted grandfatherly the older wizard "What can I do for you?"

"Hey, Albus" James said with a nice smile "You think I can have my cloak back now?"

Dumbledore looked at him suspiciously.

"I'm not going out or anything, I swear" explained James "I just want to have it with us; it makes me feel like my family is safer"

After a moment, the headmaster smiled again.

"Then, it is yours to take, my boy"

The old wizard went to grab the cloak from a near cabinet and mumbled something about 'youth' and 'love'. James was slowly getting exasperated.

"Aha! There it is!"

When Albus gave it to James, the younger wizard felt relieved. Honestly, he was starting to think Dumbledore would never give it back. He had heard from Bathilda Bagshot of Albus' obsession with the Hallows. He couldn't bear to lose his family relics to him.

"Thanks, Albus"

"It's nothing, my boy. Thanks to you for letting me borrow it"

"Well, then I'm leaving. Goodbye professor!"

James disappeared from the fire before Dumbledore could even hear the entire phrase.

Back at his home he went up to his wife's office and softly knocked the door.

"Go away, James" said a shuffled voice.

"Lily, please. I have to give you something, love" tried James.

"It won't be enough, James. A gift is not what I need right now!"

"It's the cloak"

Lily had heard of the Hallows before, when she was in her second year at Hogwarts. Upon discovering James' cloak after she agreed to get married, she just knew it was all true. The cloak was really Death's Invisibility Cloak. She understood its importance.

"James" she said after opening the door and throwing herself to his husband arms. He embraced her and sent a love feeling to his wife.

"I… James, I had an idea"

James tensed for a moment, almost sensing trouble with her wife's voice.

"Tell me" he ordered softly.

"I… I think we should ally with him"

Now three things passed through James' mind. One, it was a bad idea. Two, what about the prophecy? And three: could it work? Could the Dark Lord welcome them?

"No, Lily, absolutely no"

"Think about it, James. It could be the only choice we have to make our child live safe"

James closed his eyes and felt all the weight of his family and the prophecy on him. He imagined what it would be like if he agreed.

Voldemort could kill them in an instant if they showed up. That was the best scenario. In the worse, he could torture them and make them watch each other suffer. He could send them Imperioused to their friends and make the Order fall apart from within. James sighed.

"It's too risky, love" he surprised his wife with those words, because she knew that tone of voice. He had agreed. "What do you have in mind"

Lily looked up to see his husband eyes and said: "Severus can help"

James frowned. Snivellus? How could Snivellus help them? Was he a Death Eater?

"He sent me that letter in January, remember?" she seemed to know what he was thinking and answered with that. "It said that the Dark Lord wanted us to consider what he has to offer. If we wanted to, we could go now and he would see us"

She was led by James to their bedroom. James warded it well before turning to her and saying.

"If we are going to be part of that, we will need to prove it somehow. He could ask us to kill someone dear to us"

Lily's face looked sad, but there was hope now, and James saw it. He would make sure she was absolutely certain of what they could lose.

"I know, but our child is more important"

James smiled. That was said in the same voice he had heard his grandmother use when talking about Grindelwald and how he wanted to kill James' dad.

"Okay, then" said James. "Let's sleep. In the morning we will send an owl to Snape and see what we can do"

"Thank you, James" she kissed her husband with a great deal of gratitude and love, and as they prepared to sleep, they rested a little better for the new hope they had found.

* * *

**AN: **Well, what do you think? It's my first fanfic in English, so if you see any errors please tell me so I can correct them. I also want to know what you think about the story and the characters. It's based on the questions 'would Lily and James do _anything_ for Harry? Even going to Voldemort for protection?' If you had any comment or suggestion, feel free to tell me.


	2. Chapter 2

It already had been seven years since the night Lily asked his husband about getting into the Dark Lord service and protection. They had done so many things to really gain the Lord's trust and now that they had they didn't want to lose it.

It had all happened so gradually that James and Lily never realized they had really changed their Magic with that leader change.

The first night they met with Lord Voldemort, they were nervous about it. Lily was paler than usual and James felt like a bludger was inside him.

James remembered that night just as much as he remembered the day he married Lily or the day his parents died and almost as much as how he felt when Harry was born.

_James and Lily were sitting in their living room talking softly and mostly in whispers, drinking linden tea and eating biscuits to help stop their nerves. It wasn't resulting, but they felt _normal_. It probably was the last night they would felt like they were normal._

_After this, they would be killing machines along with the other Death Eaters. Or so they thought._

_As soon as the clock gave the eleventh hour of that night, they heard the sound of someone apparating. They stood up and Lily turned to see James._

_There could always be something wrong with their negotiations, so James kissed his wife and Lily mouthed the words 'I love you'._

_There was a knock at their door._

"_Come in" said James with a voice full of faked confidence. _

_The door opened quickly, so the Potter marriage prepared to leave the House. They seemed to be in a hurry._

"_Lily" greeted Severus once he was inside the living room._

"_Severus" greeted back the woman._

"_As much as I would like to drink tea and socialize, this isn't the time, Snape, Potter" said Dolohov, once again showing his dislike for the Potters and his like for business. _

"_Take this portkey outside of the wards" said Snape in his usual tone. "It will get you to the Lord's Manor"_

"_Wait!" said James. "How are we sure you're not going to ambush us or kill us when we leave the wards?"_

_Snape smirked and Dolohov sneered._

"_If we kill you, the Lord will murder us"_

_They didn't know if that helped._

_Ten minutes later, they were in a Victorian looking ballroom, waiting for the Dark Lord._

_Surrounding the Main stairs they were a lot of Death Eaters in their Masks and Robes._

_Lily wondered if she would have to stand there, dressed like them one day._

_Soon, they were lead to a small chamber when they met some other aspiring Death Eaters and a well-known family._

_There were the Weasley father and two of his children. They were sleeping in the arms of their father and looked no more than one or two years old. The rest of the men and women leaved them alone wondering what were those children doing there._

"_Arthur?" asked James._

_The patriarch of the redhead family saw them and attempted to smile but failed._

_The look in his eyes made Lily and James approach and ask what was he doing there._

_Arthur looked at his two kids and sighed._

"_They inherited my mother's magic"_

_At the confused looks of the younger couple Arthur explained._

"_My mother was Cedrella Black" he whispered. "When my sons were born and tested, they showed her magic. Molly wanted them gone"_

_Lily gasped. How could a mother want to get rid of her children? No matter what kind of magic his child got, she would never want him or she gone, even if her child had an affinity for Blood Magic._

"_I'm sorry, Arthur" said sincerely James "What are you going to do?"_

_The redhead sighed again and James could see some fear in his eyes._

"_My mother was disowned by her family and mine and Molly's family are Light" Arthur's words were impassive but there was no doubt of the sadness he felt. "I want someone to take them and care for them, but I know if some random Death Eater took my sons he would kill them"_

"_So you came to ask the Dark Lord himself" said Lily._

_Arthur looked at her._

"_I love them too much to just get rid of them easily, and even if I have to beg for Voldemort to take them in, I will"_

_They kept in silence after that, until another masked Death Eater came and took Arthur and his sons with them._

_They waited for almost an hour in which the rest of the men and women came and went. _

"_Potters" said a voice they now recognized as Dolohov. "Follow me"_

_They did as he said and walked behind him, Lily's hand between James'._

_Just as they entered the ballroom, the saw him standing next to a small table with beverages and some snacks._

_The Dark Lord was expecting them with an amused expression on his normally impassive face. His eyes showed them he was not playing with them; he really wanted them at his service._

"_Good night, James, Lillian" he said with a hint of respect in his voice. After all, they had faced him three times and the three they escaped alive. "Please, take a sit"_

_They sat in silent and for the first time noticed that the rest of the Death Eaters had left the place. Only Snape and Dolohov remained._

"_So" began the Dark Lord. "My servants tell me you want my protection. Why should I care about you? Why do you think I will help you?"_

_Lily fidgeted on her chair._

"_You are prophesized to kill our child" said James "we don't want that"_

_The Dark Lord smirked._

"_So you know about the prophecy" he said "Then why do you risk coming in here?"_

"_Because" said Lily this time, "if our child were to grow knowing your ideals and learned from the cradle to look up to you, he wouldn't need to kill you. And you wouldn't kill a faithful servant because of a prophecy that never became reality"_

_Once again, the Dark Lord smirked, but this time, he did so while thinking about the possibilities._

_This could work._

"_I accept" he said._

_James and Lily were surprised by the declarations of their new Lord. _

"_I won't take the Mark" said James quickly._

"_I didn't think you would want it James" said the Dark Lord. "After all, why would a proud pureblood of two great and old families submit his Magic to another wizard, no matter his power?"_

"_Lily won't take it either" said again James._

"_Do not worry and do not fear my Mark, Potters" said the Dark Lord. "But no, Lillian will not take it" he paused. "I have grater plans for you"_

_His smiled froze the couple._

James took a look at the clock. Two fifty eight of the afternoon.

He left his study room and went to the parlor, where he knew his wife must be, teaching his first son some History.

Surprisingly, that uncertain choice he did so much time ago resulted in the best thing for his family.

After the Dark Lord accepted them, he asked for some things to prove their loyalty; James and Lily convinced Sirius and Remus to join the Dark Lord.

It had been so easy to do it. They just told them about their Lord's protection to their child and that did it.

A month after the first meeting with the Dark Lord, James met with him again, this time with Sirius and Remus there.

_They were inside the Dark Lord's Manor in the same chambers that James and Lily had been the last time, waiting for Lord Voldemort to come._

_James felt a little guilty of having to make his friends join his Lord, but it was worth it, he was sure._

"_If it isn't my dearest cousin Sirius" said the baby like voice of Bellatrix. "Look at him, so little and scared of my Lord, and yet he is here to ask and beg to him"_

_Sirius tensed, but remembered why he was there. This would help the little Marauder. He ignored the taunts of his cousin while he waited and instead began thinking of how his life would change. His Mother would be so proud of him._

_Remus was a bit nervous. There they were, three of the four Marauders, about to join the Dark Lord's cause. They were between six of the more powerful Death Eaters and he could smell a werewolf near. If he wasn't mistaken, Greyback was just outside the property._

_The Dark Lord interrupted everyone's thoughts with his sudden arrival and even Bellatrix looked more composed._

"_James, it is nice to see you accomplished your task" he said looking at the two friends of Potter. "Now, Sirius, Remus you should be honored your friend decided to obey me"_

_The mentioned men felt a shudder._

"_Your life will get better now" continued the Dark Lord. "With Sirius assuming his Lordship over his family and Remus accepting his darker side with our help, you will be… happier"_

It was such a long time ago.

And just as their Lord said, they were happier.

It was difficult at first with Lily being a muggleborn and he coming from a Light family, but after Lily cursed Bella that time she made her angry, everyone started to respect his wife.

He smiled fondly at the memory. Not only because it made the Death Eaters think twice about attacking them, but because that also marked a beautiful friendship with the Lestrange marriage.

James found it funny to think about his muggleborn wife being friends with Bella Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy.

He himself had a few friends within the Death Eaters. Of course, Sirius and Remus were his best mates, but surprisingly, Snape, Dolohov and Rodolphus Lestrange were also his friends.

They never took the Mark and neither did Remus and Sirius. They were part of a little spy game and everything that Dumbledore did was dutifully reported to the Dark Lord. They laughed about it whenever they mentioned the Order of the Phoenix.

James stopped his thoughts about the matter by the time he reached Harry's room.

There, on the door, was a sign made of red and silver that read "Harrison".

He opened the door and just stood there in the hallway. The room was impeccable, no doubt thanks to Dipp, their house elf, but there was some parchment lying on the bed and desk along with various books and a quaffle. It looked like any kid's room, but James knew of some differences.

First there was one door near the bed. It lead to a small gallery with Harry's paintings. That kid was such a good artist it was incredible. Then, there was another door besides the big window. Beyond the door was a small cot where Harry kept his brooms. He had started a collection a few months ago and already had seven brooms. Harry was a great chaser, just like him. James laughed softly and closed the door.

He kept walking until he encountered another door. This time, with a red and black plaque, he found the words 'Charlus' room'.

He repeated the procedure and opened the door to his second son room.

This was a little messier, but that was to be expected of a three years old boy. Charlus had a smaller room than Harry and it was full of toys and different colored pencils. He had his small toy broom on his bead and had a few empty boxes of candy.

While Harry was a mixture of his parents' likes and personalities, Charlus was just like James when he was a boy.

James closed the door once more until he reached the stairs. Making sure his wife wasn't near, he slid down the banister of the staircase.

No matter if he was on the Dark Lord's service, some things never changed.

He reached the parlor just in time to see Harry run out the 'classroom' and smiled.

"Bye, dad!" said his son as he passed by his side.

He entered to find his wife and second son sitting on their couch.

They always preferred to sit together, while Harry and James were more independent in that sense. Harry sat on a smaller couch and James in a comfortable grand chair.

"Hey, love" said James, bending to kiss Lily's lips. "Hello, little lion" he said to Charlus.

"Harry was a bit excited today" she said. "He wanted to go and visit Cepheus and Cetus"

"I don't know if they are a bad influence on him or he on them"

Cepheus and Cetus Lestrange were the once Fred and George Weasley. They had been the adoptive sons of Bella and Rodolphus since Arthur leave them with the Dark Lord.

"I think it is Harry the bad influence" said Lily.

"Cepheus and Cetus are wicked!" said Charlus with a sleepy smile.

The couple laughed at their son. It took him a while to learn to pronounce their names and now he used them in almost any sentence.

"Well" James said to his son "Cepheus and Cetus sleep their naps, maybe you should too, little lion"

"Yes, dad" He said as he climbed down the couch and went to his room.

"They are both very independent James" said Lily with a fond look.

"I know, Heka" said James using the name Bellatrix gave to his wife when she was 'adopted' by the Black family. "They are weird"

"James!" said Lily.

"What? They are!" responded James, smiling at his wife.

"They're not!"

"They are!"

"You, are a half-witted, mutton-headed fool James Potter!"

James smiled. Some things never change.


End file.
